Frustrations build as school bus operators scramble to meet rules

New safety regulations and the public tendering process are creating a rough ride for school bus companies, operators say.

"A public tender means that the lowest bid hauls the kid," disgruntled school bus operator Dave Callahan said Thursday.

Josh Gladney, president of Gladney's Bus Lines Ltd. of Portugal Cove, is upset with new government regulations for school buses taking effect in September.

New safety regulations and the public tendering process are creating a rough ride for school bus companies, operators say.

"A public tender means that the lowest bid hauls the kid," disgruntled school bus operator Dave Callahan said Thursday.

Callahan said government accepting the lowest bids for school busing contracts encourages companies to undercut one another other, and it's reaching a crisis that could impact services.

"If you want to wonder if I'm bitter, yeah, I'm bitter," said Callahan, who operates Central Service Station in St. George's.

Right now, school bus operators say many can't afford to upgrade their fleet to Canadian Standards Association (CSA) regulations by the September deadline.

Government Services Minister Kevin O'Brien explains that buses have had to comply with these regulations for years, but inspections about a year ago revealed they weren't being met, so government set a deadline.

The most contentious and substantive upgrade is a mandatory roof hatch - an emergency escape like you'd see on a city bus.

On March 31, operators received a letter from the province's motor vehicle registrar stating that they will be required to submit documentation certifying the installation of the hatch has been done in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

That's somewhat of a contradiction from what O'Brien told The Telegram Thursday.

"We do not require this work to be done at a plant in Ontario or a plant in Quebec and it doesn't have to be certified by the manufacturer. We will accept any certification by the school bus owner."

A sales rep from one bus provider has said it refuses to certify the work. The only modifications the company will certify have to be done by its staff or staff trained by them.

If it's done locally, a lawyer has told Callahan, the operators are liable for the roof hatches if anything goes wrong.

Josh Gladney, president of Gladney's Bus, the province's biggest school bus line, said he's in better shape than some, because he only has about 10 units that need to be upgraded.

He doesn't think his buses will be ready in time - he has mechanics on staff, but they don't know where to begin since the changes are structural.

"It's like if you took your car and they told you had to put a sunroof in it," Gladney said.

O'Brien said government's top priority is the safety of children.

"We think is a very important safety issue," he said of getting the hatches installed.

Many of the American buses operators used to buy have these hatches, but as of last year the provincial government has made operators buy buses from Canada, which often do not have the hatch.

O'Brien said many U.S. buses are not up to CSA standards and the regulations vary from state to state.

All U.S. buses would have to be inspected.

Gladney said the changes that have to be made to the Canadian buses, mostly from Quebec, are more substantial.

Challenging the operators' tight budgets, the Canadian buses cost up to twice as much as used buses from the U.S., Gladney said.

Callahan said a fairer tendering process would allow him to pay his drivers a living wage and put newer buses on the road.

"And if you listen to government, they make that claim, too, but they try to suck and blow at the same time," he said.

The school bus operators have lobbied to get the tendering process scrapped altogether and have the awarding of contracts go through the Public Utilities Board.

Callahan said operators are getting much more money for their routes in other provinces.

Gladney, the third generation operating the family business, said he has been forced to downsize.

"I've commitments to meet with payments on buses for the next few years. Only for that, if I owned all my own buses, I wouldn't even go back on the roads in September," he said. "That's how bad it is."

Callahan said the Newfoundland and Labrador School Bus Owners' Association, of which both are members, formed about five years ago out of desperation.

"We got together because nobody in government was listening to us, nobody cared to hear what we had to say."

But, Callahan said, the result of about 90 operators working together hasn't helped.

"(It's) the worst I've ever seen and it's heading in the worst direction ever," he said.

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Ol Son

July 02, 2010 - 13:35

Yeah Yeah Yeah listen the bus companies have a hard enough time dealing with the govt. now as it is. When was the last time you heard of a bus crashing and 40 kids had to jump out of a hatch in the roof.....never......i have 100% confidence in the bus company that takes my child to and from school....the buses are inspected what more do you want ..If the govt wants these hatch's installed they should cough up a portion of the cash for it seeing now that we are a HAVE province now....it's not a cheap venture i'm sure to operate a bus company......and seeing we are on this lets have a look at the cabs that are running around town........think that most of them are fit to be on the road....i think not.......i'll be talking to ya later....

I think a thorough inspection of all buses should be performed by an independent company - Not goverment and Not the bus operators. I have heard, from very reliable sources, that alot of the buses are old, having been bought second-hand from mainland Canada and the US. Some of these buses need lots of work done and are borderline unsafe. Our politicians should stop spending money on themselves (i.e. office renovations, expense accounts/trips, etc.) and put some money back into community. We are paying enough taxes to guarantee that are children are transported to and from school SAFELY.

Yes, but what about the contractor with the lowest bid getting the job. Lowest bidder worse buses. Unfortunely the school board will do what they want to do. Why don't you ask the parents. Oh no can't do that because we might have the right answer and make the school board reps look bad. People who are on our school boards, their kids are no longer in the system.
Our school board/education system is a real joke. There is only one group who are better off and it's not the working class.

Snap Josh, sleeves rolled up, pipes flexed.
It is asking something to be required to put in the hatches, but I have to agree on the age of the buses being purchased from up along and across the boarder. I wonder if Mr. Gladney published the age of all of his buses, would parents of children that ride his cheesewagons feel safe? I think its a small thing to put in a hatch. It could be worse.

I don't believe for a second that Mr. Gladney or any other bus owner/operator argues against putting the safety of our children at the top of the list. What you have to realize is that the economy is a balancing act. You can't as a government try to stimulate the Canadian Economy by making companies spend double to buy buses in house, then raise the minimum wage which generally affects more than the lowest paid employees on your payroll. Then mandate that the owners cut a safety hatch in the roof jeopardizing the safety and integrity of the entire structure of the bus. Then as a result allow bus manufacturers to restrict the work being done and not cover it under warranty if not done by their own technicians. To have these buses covered and the manufacturers liable bus owners would have to ship their buses all to Quebec or other places that they are purchased and perhaps wait months to get them back and all on their own tab. If it were as simple as having your mechanic cut a whole in the roof and put a trap door on then they'd all have it done yesterday. If your child had to use an improperly installed safety device how would you feel? If these owners of the buses can even find a way to get these emergency hatches installed their business liability insurance would have to go up because they would have to be able to cover the complaints of angered parents once one of our children are injured because of failure of the mechanisim. Add into the mix that just like most of the jobs,trades,and industries in this province, bus owners are paid lower here than in most places across the country. You're now talking playing with razor thin margins, and thats for a big operator like Gladney's what about the smaller bus operators? If the government is seriously considering the safety of the children in this province why don't they foot the bill and cover the liability associated with these new standards? Effectively what many of you are saying is forget the business man, but do you stop to realize it's the business men and women in this and every province that provide jobs, services, and stability in the economy that we all benefit from on a daily basis.

Complaining about having to upgrade to CSA? CSA should be the absolute minimum standard! I can't belive they allow them to go without it at present. Comparing an escape hatch to a sunroof! Come on. Obviously it was a lucrative game while it lasted, buying up old ub standard buses and making a profit down here but the game is up now. I find it hard to feel sorry for this guy and his bitterness .
All the bus companies will have to meet the same standards now in order to compete and they'll all adjust thier bids accordingly. The tender system is fair. Let the best man win.

Bus operators are not whining about improving safety features and practices in the vehicles which they are contracted to run. They are complaining about the manner in which the the Department of Work Services and Transportation has attempted to adopt certain aspects of the D-250 Standards for School Buses. The directives and policy change statements which have been coming from the Department for the last number of years have been confusing and clearly impossible to implement simply beause they have been made through flawed research by individuals in the Department who have no concept of the school busing business. That fact has caused great confusion for operators and is bringing the industry to the breaking point. Make no mistake, all school bus operators want the safest buses on the road operated in the safest manner. Bus operators also want the best buses they can buy for their fleets. Those buses are the ones bought in the United States as they are half the price of the older buses offered in Quebec. Know this. All buses in North America are manufactured in the United States and are sold to the dealers in Quebec who sell them to Newfoundland. ALL of the buses have to be modified to meet CSA D-250 Standards. The difference is that those bought directly from the US are cheaper and have a lot of the necessary modificatons required by the D-250 Standard already done, i.e roof hatches. Those manufactured in the US for the Quebec market do not have these modifications done because it is not required by Quebec. The Department has directed that no US buses can be imported and operators have to buy Quebec buses. The cost of buying the bus and the cost of modifications drives the total cost of a unit through the roof. As a result we will have older Quebec buses and huge costs for what benefit? This matter should not be dismissed by the Minister by espousing children's safety as though operators do not have the same concern. We can assure greater safety with better equipment, while keeping the industry focused on continuing improvements for school bus transportation instead on whether on not we can meet out payroll.

The people making these comments don't fully understand the extent of what Government is doing. Government are actually working against the operators and children safety.

Instead of letting the companies bring in Buses from the US that are made to the manufacturers specs equip with the safety hatches, government is forcing operators to buy rusty buses from Quebec, requesting modifications made against Original Equipment Manufacturer Specifications (OEMS).

OK, how can any of you honestly tell me that a hatch in the roof of a bus carrying 30 or 40 kids under the age of 12 improves the safety of the bus? My 5 year old who is starting school in the fall would not be able to open a roof hatch if the bus tipped over. And no doubt the government or school board will not be providing safety trainingfor all of the children, showing them how to open the hatches in the event of an emergency. The hatches will be put in and will only be opened when some dimwit from public transportation and works is doing an inspection. Seatbelts WOULD be a better safety consideration, but no doubt they would be too expensive for the bus operators to put in as well. This is a poor effort to make it appear that government is trying to take the needs of the children of Newfoundland & Labrador to heart. I support most aspects of what the Williams government has accomplished while in power, but they have done nothing to address the many issues facing Newfoundland & Labradors youth. All they have done is slap a cosmetic solution on growing problems, like safety of school children. A few months ago a kid here in St. John's got jumped and beaten up in the main lobby of his highschool, and no justice could be brought to the family or the boy because no one would say what happened!! No cameras, no security of any kind, and this kid is afraid to rat out the punks who did it to him because he knows if he tells they will do it again, with no repercussions. This issue will only hinder the safety of our children, by providing the group with the lowest bid, not the safest bid, the right to transport thousands of children to anf from school every day.

My god, this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. This all came about because so many of there buses failed the safety inspection in the first place. Then, they don't want the job tendered? If they can't afford to run there business right then they shouldn't be in business. Next they will be complaining that there drivers need to have special licenses. Give me a break.

Yet another idiotic move by the Williams Government. Oh well we should be use to that by now and apparently many of you have no problem with anything King Danny does. The safety of our children now apparently has a price tag as well.

Are these new regulations government is implementing or are these old regulations that have not been followed? If they are old regulations what has taken government so long to discover these buses were not in compliance? I thought Dept of Motor vehicle inspected these buses twice a year, obviously someone is not doing thier job. If these are new regulations government should compensate the bus owners for this unforseen expense they are having to incure. After all at the end of the day can you really put a price on the safety of our children?

Just another example of how bad the education system really is in this province. It's a shame the public doesnt really know what is going on in the schools all over this province. Teachers on the inside know all about the terrible management, school boards making policies without anyones input, archaic rules, overcrowded classrooms, etc, etc. Perhaps we can take some of our Oil money or the money we waste every year in MHA salaries and get some decent new busses???? Hahah, one can dream I guess.

New safety regulations to protect the school kids, new tendering process to keep costs down and on top of all this, the minimum wage increase for the worker! Imagine, a government that's actually putting the concerns of the ordinary person ahead of the businessman for a change. What a concept! I expect that The Telegram will get another whiney letter from the various business groups next week.

Are these new regulations or old regulations that have not been enforced? I thought that Dept of Motor Vehicle inspected each bus every year. If these are old regulations that have not been met by contractors why are they only now doing something about it. Obviously somebody is not doing their job. If these are new regulations government should compensate the contractors for the unexpected expense they have to incure. I am sure they were not told of these modifications when they bid on their runs. Government should not be pinching pennies when it comes to the safety of our children!

It's great to raise and address safety concerns with our school buses. However, unrealistic and unfair mandates don't help anyone, and it seems like the provincial government is railroading the owners with unfair legislation. How can they force bus operators to buy a particular, expensive product (Canadian buses) then also force them to make difficult upgrades to the product immediately afterward? This does not make sense from the financial perspective of the owners. And what's the problem with buying American buses anyway, provided they are inspected and given the CSA approval? If this is not adequate for safety then something is wrong with the CSA standard, and THAT needs to be revised.

Graham let me be the first to say your and idiot, we all get the picture you don't like Danny, if you have nothing of value to say crawl back in the hole that you came from.I for one as many other applaud the move to try and make our bus system safer.My guess is if Danny gave you everything in the world you would still have a problem with it, so go back to your simple minded life and dry up and blow away I am sure you have enough hot air to accomplish it.

Stop crying in your beer and do whatever is possible to enhance the safety of the bus for the children. If you can't afford it then get out of the business and let someone else who will spend money on safety take over.

Yeah Yeah Yeah listen the bus companies have a hard enough time dealing with the govt. now as it is. When was the last time you heard of a bus crashing and 40 kids had to jump out of a hatch in the roof.....never......i have 100% confidence in the bus company that takes my child to and from school....the buses are inspected what more do you want ..If the govt wants these hatch's installed they should cough up a portion of the cash for it seeing now that we are a HAVE province now....it's not a cheap venture i'm sure to operate a bus company......and seeing we are on this lets have a look at the cabs that are running around town........think that most of them are fit to be on the road....i think not.......i'll be talking to ya later....

I think a thorough inspection of all buses should be performed by an independent company - Not goverment and Not the bus operators. I have heard, from very reliable sources, that alot of the buses are old, having been bought second-hand from mainland Canada and the US. Some of these buses need lots of work done and are borderline unsafe. Our politicians should stop spending money on themselves (i.e. office renovations, expense accounts/trips, etc.) and put some money back into community. We are paying enough taxes to guarantee that are children are transported to and from school SAFELY.

Yes, but what about the contractor with the lowest bid getting the job. Lowest bidder worse buses. Unfortunely the school board will do what they want to do. Why don't you ask the parents. Oh no can't do that because we might have the right answer and make the school board reps look bad. People who are on our school boards, their kids are no longer in the system.
Our school board/education system is a real joke. There is only one group who are better off and it's not the working class.

Snap Josh, sleeves rolled up, pipes flexed.
It is asking something to be required to put in the hatches, but I have to agree on the age of the buses being purchased from up along and across the boarder. I wonder if Mr. Gladney published the age of all of his buses, would parents of children that ride his cheesewagons feel safe? I think its a small thing to put in a hatch. It could be worse.

I don't believe for a second that Mr. Gladney or any other bus owner/operator argues against putting the safety of our children at the top of the list. What you have to realize is that the economy is a balancing act. You can't as a government try to stimulate the Canadian Economy by making companies spend double to buy buses in house, then raise the minimum wage which generally affects more than the lowest paid employees on your payroll. Then mandate that the owners cut a safety hatch in the roof jeopardizing the safety and integrity of the entire structure of the bus. Then as a result allow bus manufacturers to restrict the work being done and not cover it under warranty if not done by their own technicians. To have these buses covered and the manufacturers liable bus owners would have to ship their buses all to Quebec or other places that they are purchased and perhaps wait months to get them back and all on their own tab. If it were as simple as having your mechanic cut a whole in the roof and put a trap door on then they'd all have it done yesterday. If your child had to use an improperly installed safety device how would you feel? If these owners of the buses can even find a way to get these emergency hatches installed their business liability insurance would have to go up because they would have to be able to cover the complaints of angered parents once one of our children are injured because of failure of the mechanisim. Add into the mix that just like most of the jobs,trades,and industries in this province, bus owners are paid lower here than in most places across the country. You're now talking playing with razor thin margins, and thats for a big operator like Gladney's what about the smaller bus operators? If the government is seriously considering the safety of the children in this province why don't they foot the bill and cover the liability associated with these new standards? Effectively what many of you are saying is forget the business man, but do you stop to realize it's the business men and women in this and every province that provide jobs, services, and stability in the economy that we all benefit from on a daily basis.

Complaining about having to upgrade to CSA? CSA should be the absolute minimum standard! I can't belive they allow them to go without it at present. Comparing an escape hatch to a sunroof! Come on. Obviously it was a lucrative game while it lasted, buying up old ub standard buses and making a profit down here but the game is up now. I find it hard to feel sorry for this guy and his bitterness .
All the bus companies will have to meet the same standards now in order to compete and they'll all adjust thier bids accordingly. The tender system is fair. Let the best man win.

Bus operators are not whining about improving safety features and practices in the vehicles which they are contracted to run. They are complaining about the manner in which the the Department of Work Services and Transportation has attempted to adopt certain aspects of the D-250 Standards for School Buses. The directives and policy change statements which have been coming from the Department for the last number of years have been confusing and clearly impossible to implement simply beause they have been made through flawed research by individuals in the Department who have no concept of the school busing business. That fact has caused great confusion for operators and is bringing the industry to the breaking point. Make no mistake, all school bus operators want the safest buses on the road operated in the safest manner. Bus operators also want the best buses they can buy for their fleets. Those buses are the ones bought in the United States as they are half the price of the older buses offered in Quebec. Know this. All buses in North America are manufactured in the United States and are sold to the dealers in Quebec who sell them to Newfoundland. ALL of the buses have to be modified to meet CSA D-250 Standards. The difference is that those bought directly from the US are cheaper and have a lot of the necessary modificatons required by the D-250 Standard already done, i.e roof hatches. Those manufactured in the US for the Quebec market do not have these modifications done because it is not required by Quebec. The Department has directed that no US buses can be imported and operators have to buy Quebec buses. The cost of buying the bus and the cost of modifications drives the total cost of a unit through the roof. As a result we will have older Quebec buses and huge costs for what benefit? This matter should not be dismissed by the Minister by espousing children's safety as though operators do not have the same concern. We can assure greater safety with better equipment, while keeping the industry focused on continuing improvements for school bus transportation instead on whether on not we can meet out payroll.

The people making these comments don't fully understand the extent of what Government is doing. Government are actually working against the operators and children safety.

Instead of letting the companies bring in Buses from the US that are made to the manufacturers specs equip with the safety hatches, government is forcing operators to buy rusty buses from Quebec, requesting modifications made against Original Equipment Manufacturer Specifications (OEMS).

OK, how can any of you honestly tell me that a hatch in the roof of a bus carrying 30 or 40 kids under the age of 12 improves the safety of the bus? My 5 year old who is starting school in the fall would not be able to open a roof hatch if the bus tipped over. And no doubt the government or school board will not be providing safety trainingfor all of the children, showing them how to open the hatches in the event of an emergency. The hatches will be put in and will only be opened when some dimwit from public transportation and works is doing an inspection. Seatbelts WOULD be a better safety consideration, but no doubt they would be too expensive for the bus operators to put in as well. This is a poor effort to make it appear that government is trying to take the needs of the children of Newfoundland & Labrador to heart. I support most aspects of what the Williams government has accomplished while in power, but they have done nothing to address the many issues facing Newfoundland & Labradors youth. All they have done is slap a cosmetic solution on growing problems, like safety of school children. A few months ago a kid here in St. John's got jumped and beaten up in the main lobby of his highschool, and no justice could be brought to the family or the boy because no one would say what happened!! No cameras, no security of any kind, and this kid is afraid to rat out the punks who did it to him because he knows if he tells they will do it again, with no repercussions. This issue will only hinder the safety of our children, by providing the group with the lowest bid, not the safest bid, the right to transport thousands of children to anf from school every day.

My god, this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. This all came about because so many of there buses failed the safety inspection in the first place. Then, they don't want the job tendered? If they can't afford to run there business right then they shouldn't be in business. Next they will be complaining that there drivers need to have special licenses. Give me a break.

Yet another idiotic move by the Williams Government. Oh well we should be use to that by now and apparently many of you have no problem with anything King Danny does. The safety of our children now apparently has a price tag as well.

Are these new regulations government is implementing or are these old regulations that have not been followed? If they are old regulations what has taken government so long to discover these buses were not in compliance? I thought Dept of Motor vehicle inspected these buses twice a year, obviously someone is not doing thier job. If these are new regulations government should compensate the bus owners for this unforseen expense they are having to incure. After all at the end of the day can you really put a price on the safety of our children?

Just another example of how bad the education system really is in this province. It's a shame the public doesnt really know what is going on in the schools all over this province. Teachers on the inside know all about the terrible management, school boards making policies without anyones input, archaic rules, overcrowded classrooms, etc, etc. Perhaps we can take some of our Oil money or the money we waste every year in MHA salaries and get some decent new busses???? Hahah, one can dream I guess.

New safety regulations to protect the school kids, new tendering process to keep costs down and on top of all this, the minimum wage increase for the worker! Imagine, a government that's actually putting the concerns of the ordinary person ahead of the businessman for a change. What a concept! I expect that The Telegram will get another whiney letter from the various business groups next week.

Are these new regulations or old regulations that have not been enforced? I thought that Dept of Motor Vehicle inspected each bus every year. If these are old regulations that have not been met by contractors why are they only now doing something about it. Obviously somebody is not doing their job. If these are new regulations government should compensate the contractors for the unexpected expense they have to incure. I am sure they were not told of these modifications when they bid on their runs. Government should not be pinching pennies when it comes to the safety of our children!

It's great to raise and address safety concerns with our school buses. However, unrealistic and unfair mandates don't help anyone, and it seems like the provincial government is railroading the owners with unfair legislation. How can they force bus operators to buy a particular, expensive product (Canadian buses) then also force them to make difficult upgrades to the product immediately afterward? This does not make sense from the financial perspective of the owners. And what's the problem with buying American buses anyway, provided they are inspected and given the CSA approval? If this is not adequate for safety then something is wrong with the CSA standard, and THAT needs to be revised.

Graham let me be the first to say your and idiot, we all get the picture you don't like Danny, if you have nothing of value to say crawl back in the hole that you came from.I for one as many other applaud the move to try and make our bus system safer.My guess is if Danny gave you everything in the world you would still have a problem with it, so go back to your simple minded life and dry up and blow away I am sure you have enough hot air to accomplish it.

Stop crying in your beer and do whatever is possible to enhance the safety of the bus for the children. If you can't afford it then get out of the business and let someone else who will spend money on safety take over.